I suspect that Amtrak is so dead-set on promoting its own heritage and identity that it would never do this, and freight railroads might not want to license their intellectual property to Amtrak, but:

Wouldn't it be neat if Amtrak had heritage locomotives like freight railroads do, painted in liveries of Amtrak's predecessors?

For example, the Lake Shore Limited could be led by a locomotive in NY Central paint, the Crescent could be led by a locomotive in Southern Railway paint; and an Acela Express could be in Penn Central livery?

Well...you've got the Heritage-paint Gennie roaming out there for a few years now, so that already is happening. Keep in mind we're only 4 years away from AMTK's 50th anniversary, so the opportunity to throw a real paint-party extravaganza is coming pretty soon.

SouthernRailway wrote:I suspect that Amtrak is so dead-set on promoting its own heritage and identity that it would never do this, and freight railroads might not want to license their intellectual property to Amtrak, but:

Wouldn't it be neat if Amtrak had heritage locomotives like freight railroads do, painted in liveries of Amtrak's predecessors?

For example, the Lake Shore Limited could be led by a locomotive in NY Central paint, the Crescent could be led by a locomotive in Southern Railway paint; and an Acela Express could be in Penn Central livery?

I don't think it would ever happen, but it would be neat if it did.

Not the Penn Central livery. PRR. Or NH.

Just think how snazzy an Acela would look in Tuscan red with gold pinstripes? Or warm orange and hunter green with silver stripes a la the 1949 Merchant's Limited?

Of course, Amtrak is not a direct corporate successor to these railroads. Amtrak took over the railroad's passenger service, but not their corporate identity. Amtrak's heritage units reflect its own history, not some other corporation.

GirlOnTheTrain wrote:Doesn't the state of Connecticut own the rights to all the New Haven schemes, not just the McGinnis and variants they use now?

I don't think so. From what I've read the rights to the Herbert Matter "McGinnis" image are owned by the NHRHTA. As for the pre-1954 schemes-- the warm orange & hunter green on the RS's and PA's, the Brunswick green/gold on the DL109's, EP- and EF- 1-4s-- I don't know. They may well be in the public domain.